Item - 2020.IE18.1

The Infrastructure and Environment Committee recommends that:

1. City Council endorse the recommended design for the reconstruction of Yonge Street from Florence Avenue / Avondale Avenue to the Finch Hydro Corridor as generally shown in Attachment 1 to the report (November 17, 2020) from the General Manager, Transportation Services and refinements shown in Attachment 2 to the report (November 17, 2020) from the General Manager, Transportation Services.

2. City Council authorize the General Manager, Transportation Services to issue a Notice of Study Completion and file the REimagining Yonge Environmental Assessment Study in in the public record for a minimum 30 days, in accordance with the requirements of the Municipal Class Environmental Assessment.

Yonge Street from south of Sheppard Avenue to north of Finch Avenue is in the heart of North York Centre - one of four dynamic mixed-use Centres in Toronto with plans focused on growth of commercial office and residential uses existing side by side. Improving Centres outside the core is critical to balanced growth and prosperity across the City and it is also key to the affordability of City services since new employment uses have a positive impact on City finances.

Centres with a healthy mix of land uses help take pressure off public transit infrastructure and roads as they encourage people to live, work and play within a centralized geography.

The North York Centre Service Roads - comprised of Doris Avenue and Beecroft Road - form a ring road around the North York Centre, east and west of Yonge Street were planned and constructed to support traffic capacity, growth, and convenient rear access to residential, retail, and office buildings on Yonge Street. Supported by this broader transportation network, Yonge Street is envisioned as a Complete Street that provides a range of transportation options and safe passage to the many destinations in this vibrant, growing neighbourhood. 

Despite being second to Downtown in civic importance, scale, and growth, investment in the state of good repair and the quality of the Yonge Street streetscape has not kept pace with the area's transportation network and the scale and density of development. As a transportation asset, Yonge Street is at the end of its lifecycle - with full reconstruction for Yonge Street required within five to eight years.

Today, the area has numerous challenges including boulevards that have deteriorated to such a degree that full reconstruction is necessary, sub-standard (narrow) sidewalk

widths and few opportunities for safe pedestrian crossings, as well as an overall need to improve safety and health outcomes for people who walk and cycle.

Yonge Street, between Sheppard Avenue and Steeles Avenue, has been identified as a priority corridor for safety improvements under the Vision Zero Road Safety Plan.

Transportation Services has carried out a Municipal Class Environmental Assessment, referred to as "REimagining Yonge" that considers how the street can be improved at the time of reconstruction.

The overarching goals of the "REimagining Yonge" project are to:

- facilitate efficient movement of people, surface transit, and general traffic through better utilization of North York Centre's road network;

- improve safety and reduce the number of people who are killed and seriously injured on the street in keeping with the City's Vision Zero Road Safety Plan;

- improve vibrancy of the streetscape in keeping with the economic importance of North York Centre; and

- address state-of-good repair along the corridor.

“Transform Yonge" is recommended as the preferred alternative as it best supports these goals, as well as the City's broader policy objectives such as the City's Climate Action Strategy - TransformTO.

On March 5, 2018 the Board of Health requested the Medical Officer of Health to collaborate with Transportation Services to ensure health benefits are maximized through the REimagining Yonge study. Toronto Public Health’s research identify “Transform Yonge” as the preferred alternative which best delivers on the evidence-based design principles that promote health. It has many elements that facilitate physical activity and promote safety, especially for vulnerable road users.  Toronto Public Health noted that the “Transform Yonge” alternative provides greater connectivity, a diverse mix of land use and densities that encourage social interaction and invite active living better than other scenarios considered.

North York Centre - Transportation Network Integration and Phasing

As directed by Council in March 2018, Transportation Services has worked with the Toronto Transit Commission and other transit agencies (York Region Transit and GO Transit), to determine the surface transit operational impacts associated with the “Transform Yonge” alternative.

The updated modelling work compared the base future 2031 “Do Nothing” scenario against the 2031 “Transform Yonge” alternative (including transit mitigation measures). Both the “Do Nothing” scenario and “Transform Yonge” alternative include the North York Service Road extension that would link Doris Avenue and Tradewind Avenue south of Sheppard Avenue and east of Yonge Street. The results identified “Transform Yonge” as the preferred alternative to improving surface transit operations in 2031, as it does not hinder the long-term operational performance of surface transit buses along Yonge Street.

Prior to proceeding with the “Transform Yonge” alternative, other planned network improvements are recommended to be in place. The Doris Avenue (South Service Road), and Beecroft Road (north to Drewry Avenue) extensions are two integral pieces of transportation network infrastructure required to support growth and development priorities in North York Centre. The North York Centre: Doris Avenue Extension (South Service Road) Environmental Assessment Addendum, is being reported concurrently with this report. It is recommended that in order for the vision of REimagining Yonge to proceed, at least the initial phases of both the Doris Avenue and Beecroft Avenue extensions will need to be in place.